Nguyen Garden Vietnamese Noodle House — Restaurant in Sydney

We had lunch at this place recently and ordered their signature pho noodle soup and signature green-rice with crispy pork belly (heo-quay). Both dishes taste nice, and prepared with nice presentation and quality ingredients. Taste wise, they're not traditional Vietnamese fare... could be categorized as "modern Vietnamese dishes."

The noodle soup has deep beefy aroma from beef bones and has unique ingredients in it like lotus root, sprouts, and ox-tail meat along with generous portion of mint herb leaves. It came with the usual condiments (hoisin and chilly sauces, lemon cut, chopped chillies). I wished the soup was delivered to table in higher temperature though, since it is always my preference to enjoy pho soup.

The green-rice has similar taste/aroma with hainan chicken rice (Singapore/Malaysia dish) but with additional green color from spinach infused water. The aroma / taste was nice but I would prefer if the rice has a bit more moist and not too dry-out. The crispy pork-belly has nice taste, aroma and crispy texture. The rice also came with broccoli and cucumber slices for healthy fiber vibes. The pork belly dipping sauce is a nice addition to the dish.

The ambience of the restaurant is very nice i.e. the place has good light, good space between tables, nice furniture and A/C for hot, humid summer days. The customer service is responsive and friendly. The waiter allowed us to use stainless steel spoons / forks instead of the plastic ones provided on the table. He also offered to give us an extra bowl to share the noodle soup. All in all, our experience was great. The prices on the menu are a bit higher than other Vietnamese restaurants in the area, but still good value due to better ingredients used. You can pay by credit cards with additional 1.5% surcharge, but they can't print credit card receipt and will only text / email it if...

(3.5 stars) Nguyen Garden offers a nice room for a mid-priced, midweek meal on one of those nights when it’s too hot or you’re too tired to contemplate cooking. Concrete minimalism is softened by plenty of foliage. The green carries through to the dishes, with many served with their signature ‘green rice’. It’s a mildly-flavoured update where raw rice is stir-fried with garlic then cooked with ginger broth before being mixed with ground steamed spinach leaves to create its minty green colour. We tried our fried shallot-topped mound of green rice with a too-sweet and too mild (especially after being requested hot) edamame beef curry stew ($21) served in an earthenware pot.

Fresh greens are enjoyable when mixed through grilled lemongrass pork ($20), crisp spring rolls and vermicelli noodles which is stuffed with enough textural elements from fried shallots to lightly pickled carrot to keep you interested. Four vividly green vegan dumplings ($12/4) stuffed with mushrooms and chives had great texture and good favour against a requested pot of chilli sauce. I continued the green theming into my beverage: a pot of Japanese green tea ($5) that was weakly flavoured but stayed very hot in their two-storey cup and pot crockery. There are also fresh juices ($7) running from orange to young coconut, and you...

I usually don’t like to try traditional Vietnamese cuisine with a modern twist but walking into the beautifully decorated restaurant I was greeted by friendly staff that happily made recommendations from the menu. The menu had a good range of dishes (not many) but out of the 2 appetisers and 2 main dishes ordered each was perfectly presented and prepared. Fresh spring rolls and deep fried quail eggs wrapped in wonton pastry were swiftly presented, fresh with a dipping sauce sure to please the fussiest customer. I tried the signature ‘Phở’ served in a clay pot which was to keep the soup warm longer, the broth was delicious and I can only describe the beef as melt in your mouth. The second dish was the green rice with roast pork served with fresh greens was definitely different but yummy and did not leave me feeling heavy. You can tell the owners put so much thought and effort into their business as each dish was carefully thought out and planned with a ‘healthy’ theme in mind. Even the shop’s decorations were designed and handmade by the owner which is pretty impressive ! Definitely recommend and worth coming...